EYFS

In the Early Years Foundation Stage at Hadrian Park Primary School our children are happy and eager to learn. They are excited and motivated to learn through rich and challenging learning experiences; opportunities to explore, risk taking and first-hand purposeful experiences. We have high expectations for all our children and recognise that children have different starting points to their learning. We plan according to children’s stage of development so all can thrive and develop. We aim for children to be well-rounded individuals who are independent, resilient, and have a growth mindset.

At Hadrian Park Primary School we provide a broad and challenging curriculum which provides a wide range of exciting, purposeful and interesting learning experiences for the children.

Indoor and outdoor learning

Children in the Early Years access our curriculum both indoors and outdoors. Both are essential in order for children’s development, as well as building on self-initiated knowledge and play skills.

Inside the classroom Reception are taught as a whole class during Phonics, Literacy, Mathematics and Topic lessons. Children are then targeted after these lessons and staff will work with the children in small groups as well as individually. Children are then given the opportunity to choose their own learning challenges both inside and out of the classroom. Nursery are taught in small adult led groups and are then also given the opportunity to select their own learning challenges.

At Hadrian Park Primary we have a large outdoor area, where the children can access a range of resources that cover many different areas of the curriculum. Children use large scale resources and access equipment they would not be able to indoors.

What is the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The Early Years Foundation Stage describes the time in your child’s life between birth and age 5. This is a very important stage in a child’s life as it helps prepare for school ‘readiness’ as well as preparing them for their future learning and successes. The EYFS framework explains how and what children will be learning to support their healthy development.

Children will learn skills, acquire new knowledge and demonstrate their understanding through 7 areas of learning and development.

Children should mostly develop the 3 prime areas first. These are:

Communication and language;

Physical development; and

Personal, social and emotional development.

These prime areas are those most essential for a child’s healthy development and future learning.

As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in 4 specific areas. These are:

Literacy;

Mathematics;

Understanding the world; and

Expressive arts and design.

All 7 areas of learning are used to plan children’s lessons, activities and play. The professionals teaching and supporting your child at Hadrian Park will make sure that the lessons and activities are suited to cater to your child’s unique needs. This is similar to the curriculum in Key Stage One and Two but it's suitable for very young children, and it's designed to be really flexible so that staff can follow your child's unique needs and interests.

Indoor and outdoor learning

How we record your child's progress:

Assessment at the end of Reception plays an important part in helping parents, carers and practitioners to record children's progress accurately. Ongoing assessment is an intergral part of the learning and development process. It involves practitioners observing children to understand their level of achievement, interests and learning styles, and to then shape lessons and learning experiences for each child reflecting those observations. Each child's level of development is asessed against the early learning goals.

Practitioners will indicate whether children are meeting expected levels of development:

Emerging, not yet reaching expected levels of development for age.

Expected level of development for age.

Exceeding, beyond expected levels of development for age.

Year 1 teachers will have access to this information at the end of Reception. This will inform transition meetings between Reception and Year 1 teachers about each child’s stage of development and learning needs and assist with the planning for the start of Year 1.